WSJ gets blog advertising

While many in MSM are afraid of blogs and are starting to bias their coverage away from the fact that blogs might be commercially disruptive to their business models, the Wall Street Journal’s Amy Schatz gives blogs their due:

Nearly a year before the first caucuses and primaries take place, the 2008 presidential campaign advertising war is under way online.

Candidates of both parties are already buying space on search engines, blogs and other Internet sites popular with political junkies and potential donors. With 18 candidates vying for the most open race for the White House in 80 years and front-runners on both sides announcing plans to forgo public financing, the 2008 election promises to be a huge revenue opportunity, not just for TV broadcasters.

“There’s a blog primary going on right now,” says Henry Copeland, founder of Blogads, a North Carolina-based advertising service which automates the process of placing ads on blogs in exchange for a 30% cut of the revenue.

We’re a long way from capturing the $1 billion that will be spent on this election cycle, but we’re making inroads.